Lazy Saturday, but surprisingly long post

Erik and I slept in a bit today! It felt so good. I live for the weekends, is that sad? Sleeping in, watching tv, and relaxing: I love it! I have to say in addition to sleeping in today was a great food day. For breakfast we made our traditional Saturday morning egg sandwiches. After breakfast we cleaned the house a bit, then we got Ella ready for the dog park. And by that I mean we put on her leash and packed some water, haha. We were going to meet our friends Sundeep and Nalini at the dog park with Nalini’s dog Lucy, but as soon as we were ready to go it started pouring down rain! We got in the car and decided to head towards the dog park regardless of the rain, hoping it would either pass quickly or not be raining where we were going. We were wrong, it starting pouring down rain so hard we had to turn around (it was even “snowing?” at some point in our journey). It was a mess. After we got back home we were both starving so I made my second Clean Eating recipe: “A Better Monte Cristo Sandwich”, compare the one I made (#1) to the picture in the book (#2):

I think I did pretty well! It was a really good sandwich, the crispiness of the pear really added some texture to the sandwich. I used regular turkey from the deli section of the store for this sandwich, and I just spread the egg mixture on the bread instead of dipping the bread in the eggs. Here is the recipe:

A Better Monte Cristo Sandwich (Serves 4)

Source: The Best of Clean Eating

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb turkey breast scaloppini (thinly sliced turkey), cut into 4-oz pieces

2 tsp olive oil, divided

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup egg whites

2 tbsp skim milk

Ground cayenne pepper, to taste

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

8 slices whole-grain bread

1 cup baby spinach leaves

1 pear, thinly sliced

4 1-oz slices low-fat Swiss cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, season turkey with 1 tsp oil, oregano, salt and black pepper.

Heat a nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and sauté until light golden at edges and fully cooked throughout, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a shallow dish, whisk together egg whites and milk. Season with salt, black pepper and cayenne. Set aside.

3. Spread about 1 tsp (adjust to taste) Dijon mustard on 1 side of each bread slice and place, Dijon-side-up, onto a flat work surface. Layer equal parts spinach, pear and turkey onto 4 slices of bread. Top each stack with 1 slice cheese and another slice of bread, Dijon-side-down, pressing gently.

4. In a medium nonstick sauté pan, heat remaining tsp oil over medium heat.

Using a spatula, carefully dip 1 side of a sandwich into egg mixture (egg mixture should go about halfway up the bread slice when immersed). With your hand on the top of the sandwich and spatula underneath, carefully flip to immerse the other side in egg, then gently transfer to hot pan. Sauté sandwich, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes total. Remove from pan. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. Cut sandwiches in half and serve immediately.

Nutrients per sandwich: Calories: 420, Total Fat: 7 g, Sat. Fat: 2 g, Omega-3s: 160 mg, Omega-6s: 1,270 mg, Carbs: 34 g, Fiber: 6 g, Sugars: 9 g, Protein: 53 g, Sodium: 750 mg, Cholesterol: 105 mg

After we ate it seemed like the crazy rain storm blew away and the sun came out, so we took Ella for a long walk, I think she was pretty happy about it. We literally got back and sat on the couch for about 4 hours watching our recorded shows aka Biggest Loser marathon! Before we knew it, it was time for dinner!

Tonight I made Chicken Pomodoro with Angle Hair Pasta, it was so absolutely fabulous! The homemade pasta sauce was incredibly light, and the crumbles of feta cheese completed the meal. Compare the one I made (#1) to the picture in the book (#2):

I didn’t use whole wheat pasta because I couldn’t find any at the new Giant I went to, refer back to Friday’s blog, ugh. Here is the recipe:

Chicken Pomodoro with Angel Hair Pasta

INGREDIENTS

12 oz whole wheat angle hair pasta

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

cooking spray

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4oz each) pounded thin

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb fresh Roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp dried basil

salt and pepper

2 oz low fat feta cheese, crumbled

4 Tbsp Italian flat leaf parsley, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside but keep warm.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place steamer basket in pot and steam carrots in basket for 8 minutes or until tender. Remove carrots from steamer and set aside.

3. Set a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Mist with cooking spray and add chicken. Saute for about 3-4 minutes per side until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken from heat and let rest 1 minute. Then cut into 1/2 inch chunks.

4. Heat same skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium, spray with cooking spray, and add onion and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

5. In a food processor fitted with a standard blade, roughly puree carrots and onion-tomato mixture or pulse for about 2-3 minutes. Pour sauce into a medium-size pot and heat over medium heat. Stir in Italian seasoning and basil and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken and cook for another 2 minutes before removing from heat.

6. Divide pasta among 4 bowls or plates. Pour 1 cup chicken-tomato sauce over each portion of pasta. Sprinkle each with about 2 tsp feta and garnish with 1 Tbsp parsley.

Enjoy! We are off to Carpool to meet up with some friends! I hope everyone had a nice day!